🚨 CHARACTER COMMS AHEAD 🚨
TF983 has been given access to the microphone
and interrupt your regular reading
to bring you the following intel.
task force 983 ~ REVIEW THE BOOKS
‘Bravo Two Zero’ by Andy McNab
with sean kennedy
Golf Pro, Occasional Adrenaline Addict, Future Liability of Task Force 983
Bravo Two Zero – Andy Mcnab
Look, I’ll be honest: when I first picked up Bravo Two Zero, it was because Logan Ward shoved it into my hands and told me, “Read something that isn’t about golf for once, kid.”
Charming man, our Logan.
Anyway — I expected dry military jargon, too many acronyms, and possibly a concussion from trying to pronounce half the kit these lads lug around. What I didn’t expect was a story that felt like being punched in the face, kicked in the ribs, and then asked politely if I’d like to continue. Spoiler: I did.
✔ The Basics (in case, like me, you didn’t pay attention during the briefing):
Andy McNab recounts the real-life SAS patrol sent deep into Iraq during the Gulf War. Things go wrong. Then they go even more wrong. Then the universe apparently decides, “You know what? Let’s see how much one human can endure before he snaps in half.”
It’s gritty. It’s bleak. It’s unfiltered.
And it’s bloody impossible to put down.
✔ What hit me hardest:
This isn’t some Hollywood “heroes march into the sunset” story. It’s eight men behind enemy lines, freezing, starving, hurting, improvising, and somehow still cracking jokes that would make my Nan faint.
There’s a strange comfort in the honesty.
No glorifying. No grand speeches. No magic solutions.
Just:
This is what happened. This is how it felt. And this is what it cost.
And from what I’ve seen of Ward and Calder? Yeah. Checks out.
✔ What surprised me:
I’ve read military memoirs before, but this one… it’s personal. McNab is blunt, self-deprecating, and very British about the entire ordeal — which is to say, he occasionally understates catastrophic suffering like he’s commenting on slightly overcooked toast.
Also, the man’s sense of humour under fire is top-tier.
I respect that. Truly.
✔ What I, a humble golf professional, learned:
- Endurance isn’t running a marathon. It’s putting one foot in front of the other when everything hurts and no one is coming to help.
- Camouflage is just “don’t draw attention to yourself,” which, ironically, is my strongest skill at parties.
- I would have lasted approximately eight minutes on this patrol. Maybe nine if downhill.
- Ward definitely judges my cardio based on this book alone.
✔ Who should read it:
- Anyone who wants to understand what real operators actually go through.
- Anyone who assumes “elite soldiering” looks like it does in movies. Spoiler: it doesn’t.
- Anyone considering doing something stupid like letting Logan Ward train them. (Speaking from experience… read this first.)
✔ Final Verdict:
10/10
Raw, relentless, human, and unforgettable.
Also: never complain about bad weather on the golf course again. Ever.
If you want a story about courage stripped of glamour and survival stripped of ego — this one’s your shot down the fairway. A long, brutal fairway. Into a headwind. With snakes.
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